The Wire: Truth Be Told
by Rafael Alvarez
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Book Summary Information
Author: Rafael AlvarezEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-14
ISBN: 0743497325
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Pocket
Book Reviews of The Wire: Truth Be Told
Book Review: Old edition - covers only series 1-3. NEW EDITION OUT SOON covering all 5.
Summary: 3 Stars
Hello, my name is Liam, and I'm a Wire-o-holic.
I first noticed the series on Amazon in the DVD sectionThe Wire: Complete HBO Season 1-5. Attracted by the great reviews and the pedigree of the writers and producer, I ordered the first installment. Two months later and I've got through all but the fifth and final series, which is on pre-order.
The reason I tell you this is to establish where my perspective is on this book; I loved the show, the dialogue, the 'plot arc' (or whatever the new word for storylines is) - it's dazzlingly good.
The first thing that you should know if you're thinking of buying this book is that it was written as they were doing the third series, so it covers less than half the output they've completed now.
When I opened this book, my immediate reaction was one of foreboding - the layout was quite large print with lots of pictures and margin lines in evidence; it's got that look of a magazine style to it (it's like Harpercollins do Dorling Kindersley) - signs of dumbing down or padding out, perhaps. This impression dissipated slightly, but nevertheless stayed with me as I read the book, as perhaps two-thirds of it is written in the form of episode synopses. These were fairly entertaining to recap on, but it felt like I was reading a media studies textbook (as I imagine one to be, anyway) at times.
But the good stuff! The remaining third of the book consists of essays by the writers of the scripts and others, and the amount that they CARE about this project shines through; there's a lot of social commentary on Baltimore, the setting for The Wire and hometown to a seeming majority of those involved in the series, and it's these testimonies that are worth getting this book for.
These's also interviews with some of the actors (another 'magazine - type' thing to do) which were uneven in quality and insight, as well as cast lists at the back, but I'm not obsessive enough about the show to care about that sort of detail.
So, because the book only covers two series and previews the third, and because there's too much synopsis and not enough personal opinion, I can only give it three stars.
I'm still glad I have it at the used price though, as it looks good on the shelf next to the DVDs of the show. Could this be the beginning of OCD?
EDIT 08/08/09: There's a new book out that covers the whole 5 series - see it here. It's bound to be a better choice if you were considering this old edition, especially at the pre-order price.
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